Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State Complete Game Preview

The Texas A&M football team will put its undefeated record on the line when it travels to Starkville, Mississippi, to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. The game will feature two Top 15 teams in the Amway Coaches Poll fighting it out for an early boost in the SEC West division race. 

The Aggies are 5-0 with a 2-0 record in the SEC. The Bulldogs are 4-0 and 1-0 in conference play following an impressive 34-29 win in Baton Rouge over LSU.

Mississippi State has had an off week to prepare for the Aggies, while Texas A&M won a hard-fought contest with Arkansas, 35-28, in overtime. The Mississippi State game marks the first of three straight for the Aggies against ranked teams from the West division. 

This is a look at the at how the Aggies and Bulldogs match up with each other.

Texas A&M's Keys to Victory

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The Mississippi State Bulldogs will be the toughest team the Aggies have played up until this point in the season. The Bulldogs feature an excellent dual-threat quarterback and quite possibly the best front seven on defense in the SEC. 

The Aggie defense faces a tremendous task in this contest. The unit will need to find a way to contain Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott. The 6'2", 230-pound junior rushed for 154 yards and a touchdown against the Aggies in 2013. 

Prescott was a physical mismatch for the Aggies' smallish linebackers and overpowered them on the way to long, drive-sustaining runs. The Aggie linebackers were exposed against Arkansas, as the Razorbacks rushed for 285 yards. 

They need to find a way to contain Prescott and junior running back Josh Robinson. The Bulldogs are averaging 270.8 yards rushing per game. They average 5.6 yards per carry. The Aggies linebackers are going to have to tackle better against the Bulldogs than they did against Arkansas.

The defense needs to create some turnovers. It's not good enough to contain the Mississippi State running game. The Aggies are going to need some extra possessions on offense in order to outscore the Bulldogs. 

On offense, the Aggies are going to have to score a lot of points to keep the Bulldogs from trying to control the game on the ground. They need to be much cleaner on offense than they were against the Razorbacks. 

The Mississippi State defense is exceptional against the run but struggles against the pass. The Bulldogs allow 2.4 yards per rush but are giving up 319 yards passing per game. 

The Aggies will need to take what the Bulldog defense gives them. The goal is to score as many points as possible. Texas A&M needs to use the pass to set up the run against Mississippi State.

Mississippi State's Keys to Victory

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Mississippi State needs to control the clock on offense in order to win the game. The Bulldogs' biggest weakness is their secondary. If given time, quarterback Kenny Hill and the Aggie offense will be able to move the ball at will against the Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs need to run the ball in order to keep the Aggie offense on the sideline. If they are able to run the ball successfully and protect the football, they stand a great chance at winning this game. 

On defense, they need to put pressure on Hill. Mississippi State has a very good front seven on defense, and the team has recorded 14 sacks in four games. If the front seven can get consistent pressure on Hill, it should help protect the secondary. 

Defensive pressure typically results in turnovers. If the Bulldogs are able to force two turnovers on defense, then they should win the game. 

Texas A&M Players to Watch

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Kenny Hill should have a big game against the Bulldogs. The Mississippi State secondary is porous, and Hill is one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. He should pass for over 300 yards in Starkville. 

If the Aggies want to win the game, then senior linebacker Donnie Baggs has to play better than he did against Arkansas. Baggs missed tackles and was run over by the Arkansas running backs. He is a senior linebacker who tallied three tackles when the Razorbacks ran the ball 47 times. 

If Baggs has a good game against Mississippi State, then the Aggie defense will have success controlling the Bulldogs running game. If he plays like he did against Arkansas, then it will be a long day for the Aggie defense. 

Freshman wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones is second on the team with 20 receptions for 221 yards. He has only caught seven passes for 67 yards in the past two games. The 6'5", 230-pound athlete is a walking mismatch. The Aggie coaches need to find a way to use him to stretch defenses deep.

Sophomore receiver Josh Reynolds is slowly developing into the Aggies' best receiver. He leads the Aggies in yards per catch (21.0) and receiving touchdowns (five). Look for him to have a big day against the Mississippi State secondary.

Freshman defensive end Myles Garrett accumulated 5.5 sacks after the first three games of the season but has not recorded a sack during the last two games. He should get more opportunities to rush the passer against Mississippi State than he did against Arkansas.

Mississippi State Players to Watch

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The Bulldogs defense features the best linebacker the Aggies will face all season. Mississippi State junior middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney will be an All-American in 2014. He will likely be a first-round draft pick if he chooses to leave school early and enter the 2015 NFL draft. 

McKinney leads the Bulldog defense with 27 tackles, including five tackles for loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery. The 6'5", 250-pound athlete is arguably the best defensive player in the SEC. 

Defensive linemen Chris Jones and Preston Smith are both All-SEC candidates for the Bulldogs. Smith became the first player in SEC history to win the Defensive Lineman of the Week Award in the SEC for three consecutive weeks when he accomplished the feat to start the season. 

Jones has recorded two sacks from his defensive tackle position. He and Smith will present a tremendous test for the Aggies offensive line. 

Junior quarterback Dak Prescott makes the Bulldog offense go. He is averaging 335.5 total yards per game. If the Aggies can contain him, then they can contain the Mississippi State offense. 

Junior running back Josh Robinson is averaging 121.2 yards rushing per game and 7.8 yards per carry. He and Pearson will present a tremendous challenge for the Aggies front seven on defense.

Mississippi State starting center Dillon Day has been suspended for the A&M game. It will be interesting to see how backup center Archie Muniz performs against the Aggies. 

What They Are Saying

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In a postgame press conference following the comeback win over Arkansas, Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin discussed the senior leadership on his team:

"

Deshazor Everett leaves the game with shoulder, ends up making critical plays at the end. Howard Matthews, same thing.  Guys went back in the game. And Malcolm Kennedy, I thought he was done.  As a matter of fact, they said he was done, and I look up and he goes just running right back out on the field and catches a winning touchdown. So, you know, those guys kind of epitomize what today's effort was about, and that's the kind of senior leadership that it's going to take in a league like this because it was a very, very physical football game.

"

Sumlin also touched on the defense stepping up to secure a win:

"We need that.  We need to win a game like that, particularly in the fashion that we did at the end with our defense having to stop them, not just in overtime, but the last couple series."

Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen talked to reporters after the win over LSU: 

"Our guys played with a lot of confidence. We made plays when we needed to."

Mississippi State junior quarterback Dak Prescott discussed the increased attention that success brings with Logan Lowery of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal: 

"I try not to do anything stupid regardless, but on campus especially with a few people watching me now."

Predicted Outcomes

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

This is an interesting matchup for the Aggies. Mississippi State's glaring weakness as a team is its pass defense, which plays right into the hands of the Aggies. 

On the other hand, the Bulldogs have a very good rushing attack with a big running back and dual-threat quarterback. The Aggies struggle with larger skill players because of their lack of size at linebacker, so that bodes well for the Bulldogs. 

The crowd in Starkville will be pumped up after the Bulldogs' win over LSU. It should be a raucous atmosphere. The Aggies looked like a young team against Arkansas. It will be interesting to see what they learned from that game. 

Expect this game to be a high-scoring affair, with the Aggies having just enough offense to secure a win by the score of 38-37 in Starkville.